At approximately 5:30 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2007, a pipe burst in Goodyear Hall on South Campus flooded room 512 East and left one of the room's occupants with over $2000 worth of damage.
Months later, the unfortunate occupant, Andrew Stolworthy, has yet to receive compensation for damages to his belongings during the spring pipe burst that left him with a permanent scar by which to remember the incident.
Stolworthy, now a sophomore architecture major, awoke early that morning when a pipe from the radiator in his room began to leak. After calling all emergency numbers available to campus residents and having their calls go unanswered, Stolworthy and his roommate Kerry Paz were out of options.
"We'd considered calling the University Police, but we figured they're not plumbers," Stolworthy said.
Minutes later, the pipe burst, filling the room with at least an inch of water almost instantly, according to Stolworthy. Stolworthy and Paz quickly left the room to wake up their Resident Advisor. Upon returning to the room, Stolworthy slipped and fell, cutting his leg, resulting in a permanent scar. All Goodyear residents were forced to leave the building, displaced until well into the afternoon.
"It was three hours after when they finally even shut off the water," Stolworthy said.
Stolworthy and Paz were advised to list all damages to their belongings, after finally being allowed back into their room.
"We went through and checked everything to see what worked and what didn't," Stolworthy said. "I had a list a page long."
According to Stolworthy, items damaged during the pipe burst included his desktop computer and his DVD player, among others. Stolworthy estimated that he incurred approximately $2,400 worth of damages, whereas his roommate incurred $500. As the result of an investigation by Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), Stolworthy has yet to receive compensation for damages to his belongings during the pipe burst.
"They said they found the University not responsible after a forensic investigation," Stolworthy said. "They denied everything. The only thing we claimed were the damages - not even what happened to my leg."
Stolworthy and Paz were told not to expect compensation at the time of the incident and that they should claim the damages against their parents' homeowner's insurance instead, Stolworthy said.
According to Joseph Krakowiak, the director of the University Residence Halls and Apartments, it was the decision of EHS to not compensate students' property damaged during the pipe bursts. EHS made the decision that UB was not negligent in regards to the pipe burst incident and was therefore not responsible for the damages that followed.
"We submit to Environmental Health and Safety information regarding the incident and sent the information to a consultant," Krakowiak said. "We (URH&A) make no call as to whether we're negligent or not. That's for Environmental Health and Safety to decide."
The pipe that burst was caused by the same malfunction that caused other pipe bursts during the spring semester; the T-shaped pipes that burst had been installed relatively recently by a contractor. Therefore, the responsibility fell with the contractor, not that of UB employees, Krakowiak said.
According to Krakowiak, when a student comes to live on campus, URH&A encourages residents to have a renter's policy with their insurance to cover losses while living in the dorms or apartments, including the pipe burst incidents.
"Anything could happen, items can be stolen, or they can be damaged," Krakowiak said. "There's been no change to this, we've always had this policy."
EHS reviewed Stolworthy's claim and decided that damages Stolworthy incurred were not the result of a UB employee's negligence. Krakowiak said that the URH&A tried to relieve students of the inconveniences they faced during the pipe burst incidents.
"We gave people back the amount they paid (in rent) for the day or two they were inconvenienced as a token, but it's difficult for us and too expensive to give people back their full value."
According to Krakowiak, it would actually be against the rules to use URH&A funds collected from money from rentals to repay for Stolworthy's damages.
"The rules are that if we're taking money from rentals, it has to go to the cost of operation," Krakowiak said. "It would be an illegal action against the campus to do that (pay damages)."
Stolworthy, after communicating with EHS throughout the summer and early fall, now has been getting what he believes is the "run around," unable to speak with anyone from the facility regarding his claim.
"I don't understand. The pipe broke and it wasn't our fault; it was the school's fault. They shouldn't have pipes that are breaking," Stolworthy said. "They're responsible for my stuff being ruined - you'd think they'd just pay for it."
